Nissan investment in new Infiniti set to benefit West Midland component firms

THE decision by Nissan to invest £250m in its Sunderland plant to pave the way for the production of a new small luxury car is expected to create major opportunities for component suppliers in the West Midlands, automotive experts have said.

Around 50 firms in the region already supply to the North East plant and the announcement of the new Infiniti model is expected to create further opportunities.

Infiniti is to Nissan what Lexus is to Toyota and the former is keen to boost its sales in Europe, where it believes a smaller car will be more popular than the thirsty luxury and SUV vehicles it is better known for.

The new model is expected to be based on the Ethera concept which was first exhibited by Infiniti – which has a showroom in Birmingham – in 2011. It is likely to be supplied with a diesel option to make it more appealing to European buyers.

Rachel Eade, Supply Chain Specialist for the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), said: “Nissan’s decision to build its first premium model in Britain is a fantastic way to end a year of investment that now totals over £5.5bn.
 
“The Infiniti model, which is expected to rival the Audi A3, BMW 1-series and Mercedes Benz A-class, will create 280 direct jobs at the plant in Sunderland with more than 700 further positions across the UK’s supply chain.
 
“We estimate that 50 suppliers in the West Midlands currently provide components to Nissan in the North East and they must be relishing the opportunity to bid for new contracts on this model.”

The new Infiniti model was formatted by Nissan’s design team in London and engineered at its technical centre in Bedfordshire.